The Federal Government has announced plans to engage five million small-holder farmers in the next phase of the Agro 2.0 scheme.
The Head of Strategy and Planning, National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), Adebanke Fajana, disclosed this during the NADF-Farm Input Supply Programme roundtable engagement with processors held in Lagos.
Fajana said the NADF is working with the organised private sector, particularly processors, to reach small-holder farmers across the country. She explained that the collaboration aims to address challenges and lessons identified during the pilot phase of the initiative.
According to her, “We have a very robust system of monitoring and evaluation, where we have regional monitors, we have state monitors, which have been put on ground to go into the field to look at what the cultivation level is, what the input usage is, adoption of good agronomic practices, and a lot of other things to ensure that not only do we just dispense or make provisions for this input. We also ensure proper input utilization and good agronomic practices adoption for the end-users.”
Fajana noted that NADF is ensuring that the scheme’s implementation in its second phase is coordinated for greater efficiency and improved outcomes.
Also speaking, NADF Executive Secretary, Mohammed Ibrahim, assured farmers that the intervention on the supply of inputs would boost crop harvest and productivity.
Ibrahim, who was represented by the NADF Head of Corporate Services, Abiodun Sosanya, said the Fund is committed to strengthening Nigeria’s agricultural input supply system.
“As we reflect on the implementation of the first phase of this programme, the NADF remains firmly committed to evidence-based learning and continuous process improvement for optimal efficiency in the delivery of our mandate,” he said.
Ibrahim acknowledged that the pilot phase of the intervention encountered several challenges that affected planting cycles and yields. He said, “These challenges are real, and they underscore the complexity of implementing agricultural interventions such as the NADF-Farm Inputs Supply program.”
Despite those challenges, Ibrahim reaffirmed NADF’s commitment to work closely with processors to ensure accountability and continuous improvement in all interventions. He called on processors to actively engage with the Fund to achieve practical outcomes that will strengthen input systems, enhance agricultural productivity, and support national transformation goals.
“The NADF remains optimistic that your insights, experiences, and recommendations will play an important role in shaping a more efficient, transparent, and climate-responsive second phase of the program – ensuring better impact and sustainability,” he added.
The Chief Executive Officer of Vemac Farms Limited, Oyo State, Femi Ojelade, stressed the importance of collaboration among processors, smallholder farmers, and the government to improve food security in Nigeria.
He urged NADF to make sure processors receive inputs early enough before the farming season. “We understand it’s the first phase. But the second phase; they have to work assiduously to make sure that most processors actually get their input at least a month before the planting season,” Ojelade said.
Also, the Managing Director of Arog Bio Allied Agro Services Limited, Aroge Temitope, described the Agro 2.0 scheme as a major step toward strengthening the agricultural value chain.
He said, “So, for us, it’s a good project and it’s actually very supportive of food security and wealth creation in the rural areas.”
Temitope noted that the project came at a crucial time and has already helped his company access necessary inputs and support for its outgrower base. He said his company was able to cultivate for the 2025 and 2026 farming seasons by leveraging the NADF Agro 1.0 programme to secure enough cassava across three states – Ogun, Ondo, and Ekiti.
